O objetivo geral deste trabalho é identificar os fatores contributivos e os fatores limitadores para negócios sociais nas regiões Sul e Sudeste do Brasil, por meio do atingimento dos seguintes objetivos específicos: (a) descrever os principais modelos conceituais existentes para negócios sociais, identificando similaridades e diferenças; (b) identificar as percepções dos principais atores sobre negócios sociais nas regiões Sul e Sudeste do Brasil; e (c) desenvolver um framework com as principais dimensões de análise, fatores contributivos e fatores limitadores para negócios sociais. Foi realizada uma pesquisa exploratória, qualitativa de abordagem direta e de análise descritivo-interpretativa, em duas fases. Na primeira, com pesquisa documental, na segunda por meio de trinta e seis entrevistas semi-estruturadas com atores-chave para negócios sociais no Brasil – empreendedores, suas equipes e organizações apoiadoras. Os dados coletados foram analisados segundo a técnica de análise de conteúdo e os resultados são apresentados de forma descritiva e sintetizados no framework de análise. Foram identificados oito fatores contributivos e dezoito fatores limitadores, distribuídos em cinco dimensões de análise. / The main objective of this research is to identify the contributing and limiting factors for social businesses in the Brazilian South and Southeast regions. The specific objectives are: (a) to describe the key existing social business conceptual models, making explicit their similarities and differences; (b) to identify the perception of the main players in the field of social business in the Brazilian South and Southeast regions; and (c) to develop an analytical framework with the main analysis dimensions, contributing and limiting factor. It was a two phases exploratory research, qualitative with a direct approach, with descriptive-interpretative analysis. On the first phase, the focus was on a documental research, on the second, the focus was on thirty-six semi-structured interviews with the main players in the field – entrepreneurs, their teams, and supporting organizations. The collected data processed according to the content analysis technique, and the results are presented in descriptive format, being sintetized in the analytical framework. The result were eight contributing factors and eighteen limiting factors, spread across five analytical dimensions.

nÃo hà / O empreendedororismo social à uma abordagem que trata da superaÃÃo de limites impostos pela escassez de recursos, por meio do reconhecimento e exploraÃÃo de novas oportunidades e o contexto em que as organizaÃÃes do Terceiro Setor, como as ONGs, se encontram à caracterizado pela dificuldade em obter os recursos necessÃrios ao desenvolvimento de suas aÃÃes e projetos sociais. Diante disto, esse trabalho tem como finalidade identificar como as ONGs cearenses tem desenvolvido sua sustentabilidade econÃmica por meio do empreendedorismo social, como forma de dar prosseguimento a sua missÃo, nÃo se limitando ao contexto de escassez de recursos. Foram realizados estudos de caso em quatro ONGs cearenses, sendo observadas as aÃÃes habituais e inovadoras no Ãmbito dos trÃs critÃrios de sustentanbilidade econÃmica em ONGs (nÃo-mercantil, nÃo-monetÃrio e mercantil). Por meio da utilizaÃÃo da anÃlise do conteÃdo como tÃcnica investigativa chegou-se a conclusÃo de que a ONGs cearenses tem desenvolvido sua sustentabilidade econÃmica por meio do empreendorismo social atravÃs, principalmente, do intenso desenvolvimento de atividades comerciais, ligadas ao critÃrio mercantil, tanto relacionadas a prÃticas habituais, como a aÃÃes inovadoras e que isto tem ocorrido de forma totalmente diversificada e diretamente relacionada à missÃo organizacional. Quanto ao critÃrio nÃo-mercantil de sustentabilidade econÃmica verificou-se que pouco se tem empreendido neste Ãmbito, tendo sido percebido que o desgaste que a imagem destas organizaÃÃes tiveram apÃs a exposiÃÃo de ONGs que se utilizaram irregularmente de doaÃÃes gerou desgaste e desconforto em sua relaÃÃo com empresas e indivÃduos. Quanto aos recursos pÃblicos, apenas uma das ONGs tem estratÃgia estabelecida voltada a constante participaÃÃo de editais e a busca de benefÃcios fiscais, sendo considerado pelas ONGs, um recurso envolto em processo, excessivamente, burocrÃtico e desgastante. Quanto ao critÃrio nÃo-monetÃrio, a maioria das ONGs tem se utilizado, como meio mais recente de captar futuros colaboradores, as redes sociais e tem obtido grandes resultados. Mesmo as que nÃo utilizam essa ferramenta de comunicaÃÃo com este intuito, conseguem indiretamente captar voluntÃrios, pois à criada uma rede de contatos onde se compartilha as aÃÃes e atividades sociais desenvolvidas, despertando o interesse da sociedade em colaborar / The social empreendedororismo is an approach that deals with overcoming limits imposed by the scarcity of resources, by recognizing and exploiting new opportunities and the context in which third sector organizations such as NGOs, are is characterized by difficulty in obtaining the resources necessary to develop their actions and social projects. In view of this, this paper aims to identify how Cearà NGOs have developed their economic sustainability through social entrepreneurship as a way of following through on their mission, not limited to the context of resource scarcity. Case studies were conducted in four Cearà NGOs, being subject to the usual and innovative actions under the three criteria of economic sustentanbilidade in NGOs (non-commercial, non-monetary and commercial). Through the use of content analysis as an investigative technique we came to the conclusion that the Cearà NGOs have developed their economic sustainability through social entrepreneurship primarily through the intensive development of commercial activities related to commercial criteria, both related to customary practices, such as innovative actions and this has been fully diversified and directly related to the organizational mission. As for the non-market criteria of economic sustainability was found that little has been undertaken in this area, having been seen to wear the image of these organizations had after exposure of NGOs that were used irregularly donations generated wear and discomfort in their relationship with businesses and individuals. As for public resources, only one NGO has established strategy geared to constant participation notices and seeking tax benefits, being considered by the NGOs a resource wrapped in process, excessively bureaucratic and exhausting. As for the non-monetary criteria, most NGOs have been used, as the latest means of capturing future employees, social networks and has achieved great results. Even those who do not use this communication tool to that end, can indirectly attract volunteers as a network of contacts which is shared actions and developed social activities is created, arousing the interest of society to cooperate

O objetivo geral deste trabalho é identificar os fatores contributivos e os fatores limitadores para negócios sociais nas regiões Sul e Sudeste do Brasil, por meio do atingimento dos seguintes objetivos específicos: (a) descrever os principais modelos conceituais existentes para negócios sociais, identificando similaridades e diferenças; (b) identificar as percepções dos principais atores sobre negócios sociais nas regiões Sul e Sudeste do Brasil; e (c) desenvolver um framework com as principais dimensões de análise, fatores contributivos e fatores limitadores para negócios sociais. Foi realizada uma pesquisa exploratória, qualitativa de abordagem direta e de análise descritivo-interpretativa, em duas fases. Na primeira, com pesquisa documental, na segunda por meio de trinta e seis entrevistas semi-estruturadas com atores-chave para negócios sociais no Brasil – empreendedores, suas equipes e organizações apoiadoras. Os dados coletados foram analisados segundo a técnica de análise de conteúdo e os resultados são apresentados de forma descritiva e sintetizados no framework de análise. Foram identificados oito fatores contributivos e dezoito fatores limitadores, distribuídos em cinco dimensões de análise. / The main objective of this research is to identify the contributing and limiting factors for social businesses in the Brazilian South and Southeast regions. The specific objectives are: (a) to describe the key existing social business conceptual models, making explicit their similarities and differences; (b) to identify the perception of the main players in the field of social business in the Brazilian South and Southeast regions; and (c) to develop an analytical framework with the main analysis dimensions, contributing and limiting factor. It was a two phases exploratory research, qualitative with a direct approach, with descriptive-interpretative analysis. On the first phase, the focus was on a documental research, on the second, the focus was on thirty-six semi-structured interviews with the main players in the field – entrepreneurs, their teams, and supporting organizations. The collected data processed according to the content analysis technique, and the results are presented in descriptive format, being sintetized in the analytical framework. The result were eight contributing factors and eighteen limiting factors, spread across five analytical dimensions.

O empreendedorismo social surge como uma nova forma de empreender, preocupado acima da geração de valor econômico, com o potencial de acréscimo de valor social incutido em determinado setor da sociedade. As micro e pequenas empresas vêm sendo objeto de estudo da contabilidade ao longo do tempo, porém os negócios sociais não parecem estar recebendo atenção devida tendo em vista serem um tipo inovador de negócio, que se preocupa com a transformação de uma sociedade que cada vez mais se questiona sobre os impactos ambientais e de desigualdade social causados pelo sistema econômico vigente. Neste sentido, o presente estudo teve por objetivo analisar o estado atual de interação entre a contabilidade e empreendedores sociais e, para além disso, indagar de quais formas um uso mais qualitativo da contabilidade pode assegurar o êxito deste tipo de negócios. O trabalho coletou seus dados por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com empreendedores sociais e profissionais de contabilidade que prestam serviços a esses empreendedores. Como resultado da análise das entrevistas, pôde-se vislumbrar um cenário de distanciamento entre a contabilidade e os negócios sociais. Porém já existem profissionais atentos a essa nova vertente de negócio, profissionais contábeis que enxergam um papel de destaque desse tipo de empreendimento por seu caráter de transformação social. Pretende-se com a pesquisa, além de outras coisas, agregar visibilidade aos negócios sociais, despertar maior interesse pelo tema nas pesquisas em contabilidade e conscientizar os empreendedores sobre os benefícios que o uso de uma contabilidade de qualidade pode trazer para seus negócios / Social entrepreneurship emerges as a new way of undertaking, preoccupied not only with the generation of economic value, but also with the potential for added social value instilled in a sector of society. Micro and small enterprises have been an increasingly research subject in accounting over time, but social businesses do not seem to be receiving proper attention due to being an innovative type of business, one that concerns itself with the transformation of a society that increasingly ponders on the environmental impacts and social inequality caused by the current economic system. In this sense, the present study aimed to analyze the current state of interaction between accounting and social entrepreneurs and, in addition, to question in which ways can a more qualitative use of accounting ensure the success of this type of business. This work collected its data through semi-structured interviews with social entrepreneurs and accounting professionals who provide services to these entrepreneurs. Through the analysis of the interviews, we could notice a scenario in which there is still some distance between accounting and social businesses. However, there are already some professionals paying attention to this new kind of business, accounting professionals who see a prominent role in this type of enterprise for its character of social transformation. The aim of the research is to add visibility to social affairs, to raise awareness of the topic in accounting research, and to make entrepreneurs aware of the benefits that the use of quality accounting can bring to their business

Present-day development theory and practice highlight the potential of micro-entrepreneurship for poverty reduction in least developed countries. Fostered by the seminal writings of microfinance founder Muhammad Yunus and the bottom-of-the-pyramid propagator Krishnarao Prahalad, the new approach is marked by a stress on participation and sustainability, and the new, market-based development models. With the growing popularity of the new approach there has been an increased demand for research on the efficacy and impact of innovations. What has scarcely been addressed, however, is the legitimacy of the new paradigm within its contexts of application. Since engagement and participation have been made the focal point of the new approach, my research investigates how the innovative, mostly market-based models have been received by the local populations on the ground. This doctoral dissertation is looking up-close at the rural populations of Burundi, describing and explaining their perceptions, behaviors and actions in response to the market-based development innovations: microfinance, rural entrepreneurship and community social enterprise. Do the concepts of entrepreneurship, community engagement and participation find a fertile ground among the poorest rural dwellers of sub-Saharan Africa? Can subsistence farmers be entrepreneurs? How to create social value in the context of extreme resource scarcity? It is investigating these and other questions that guided the subsequent stages of my work. I based my dissertation on extensive field research, conducted periodically over the period of four years in the remote areas of rural Burundi.In the first chapter, I question the applicability of entrepreneurship-based interventions to the socio-cultural context of rural Burundi. Basing my quantitative analysis on a unique cross-section dataset from Burundi of over 900 households, I look into the entrepreneurial livelihood strategies at the near-subsistence level: diversifying crops, processing food for sale, supplementary wage work and non-agricultural employment. I find that the farmers living closer to the subsistence level are indeed less likely to pursue innovative entrepreneurial opportunities, unable to break the poverty cycle and move beyond subsistence agriculture. The paper contributes to the ongoing debate on by analyzing its drivers and inhibitors in the context of a subsistence economy. It questions the idea of alleviating rural poverty through the external promotion of entrepreneurship as it constitutes ‘a denial of the poor’s capacity for agency to bring about social change by themselves on their own terms’.Drawing on these findings, the second chapter focusses on the role of local communities as shareholders of projects. The aim of this paper is to investigate the ways in which the agrarian communities in rural Burundi accommodate the model of a community social enterprise. The project understudy, implemented by the UNICEF Burundi Innovation Lab, builds upon the provision of green energy generators to the village child protection committees in the energy-deficient rural regions of the country. The electricity-producing machines are also a new income source for the groups, transforming them into economically viable community enterprises. Since the revenue earned is to directly support the village orphans’ fund, the communities in question engage in a true post-development venture: they gradually assume the role of the development-provisioning organizations.The third chapter of this work focusses on the complex interaction between the microfinance providers and the population of its clients and potential clients: the rural poor. It draws on the existing research on positive deviance among African communities and explores the social entrepreneurial potential of the rule-breaking practices of microfinance programs’ beneficiaries. Using the storyboard methodology, I examine the strategies employed by the poor in Burundi to bypass institutional rules. My results suggest that transgressive practices and nonconformity of development beneficiaries can indeed be seen as innovative, entrepreneurial initiatives to reform the microfinance system from within, postulating a more participatory mode of MFIs’ organizational governance. The three empirical chapters provide concrete examples illustrating the contested nature of the development process. In the last, theoretical, chapter, I examine how the different conceptualizations of social entrepreneurship have been shaped by the disparate socio-political realities in the North and in the South. I then analyze how the process of constructing academic representation has been influenced by the prevalent public discourses.Since doubling or tripling of the external development finance has not sufficed to bring about systemic change, the assumption that technology, managerial efficacy and the leveraging power of financial markets could be applied to solving the problem of persisting global poverty has a lot of appeal. At the same time, my findings point to the fact that if the ultimate objective of development is broadly defined value creation, the definition of what constitutes value should be negotiated among all the stakeholders. The dissertation makes an important contribution to the understanding of participation, entrepreneurship and community engagement in the context of development studies.I strongly believe that development organizations must have a quality understanding of the social and cultural characteristics of the need or problem they are targeting in order to make productive decisions about the application and scaling of interventions. I very much hope that my work can provide some guidance for their work on the ground. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Abstract This research explores social entrepreneurship within the Islamic context through a number of perspectives. While there has been plenty of scientific research on social entrepreneurship during the last decades, non-Western settings are largely missing from academic research. Nevertheless, social entrepreneurship is also practiced in non-Western nations, no less so in the GCC countries. This research explores the multifaceted nature of social entrepreneurship within the Islamic GCC context through three qualitative research papers. The strong role and influence of social entrepreneurship was seen as the connecting theme between these three papers. Social entrepreneurship comes in many shapes and sizes and is visible at many levels of organization. Nation states display it as do even wider, shared belief systems. The multifaceted nature of social entrepreneurship is revealed when approached from several perspectives. The first paper approaches it from a social and commercial perspective, utilizing a case study method. The second paper is a conceptual paper that approaches social entrepreneurship from a more religious and philanthropic perspective by focusing on zakat. In the third paper, social entrepreneurship is studied from the perspective of leadership and state using a historical case study. The findings of these three papers reveal that the interaction between the different functions of social entrepreneurs is both complex and multifaceted. One of the reasons for this is that the boundaries within which the social entrepreneurs operate are highly multidimensional. The Islamic context encompasses both institutional entrepreneurship and Islamic philanthropy, and sees them as essential and often also inseparable parts of it - perhaps even more so than in a Western context. This research shows that the state has a strong supporting role in social entrepreneurship and even acts as social entrepreneur. Thus, in the Islamic context, the effects of social entrepreneurship (through zakat institutions) actually foster the interaction and spread of social entrepreneurs, institutional entrepreneurs and Islamic philanthropists across multiple institutional spheres. / Tiivistelmä Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkitaan sosiaalista yrittäjyyttä islamilaisessa kontekstissa useasta eri perspektiivistä. Vaikka viimeisten vuosikymmenten aikana on tehty paljon akateemista tutkimusta sosiaalisesta yrittäjyydestä, tutkimus länsimaiden ulkopuolisisissa konteksteissa on ollut hyvin vähäistä. Siitä huolimatta sosiaalista yrittäjyyttä on harjoitettu myös muualla kuin länsimaissa, kuten myös Persianlahden arabivaltioissa, GCC maissa. Tämä tutkimus käsittelee sosiaalisen yrittäjyyden monitahoista ilmentymää islamilaisissa GCC maissa kolmen kvalitatiivisen artikkelin kautta. Sosiaalisen yrittäjyyden vahva rooli ja sen erilaiset vaikutukset ovat yhdistävä teema näissä kolmessa artikkelissa. Sosiaalinen yrittäjyys ilmenee monessa eri muodossa ja eri kokoisissa yrityksissä ja sen vaikutus on nähtävissä useissa organisaation eri tasoissa. Sosiaalista yrittäjyyttä on havaittavissa myös valtiotasolla ja jopa suuremmissa uskomuskunnissa. Sosiaalisen yrittäjyyden monitahoisuus ilmenee, kun sitä lähestytään useasta perspektiivistä. Ensimmäinen artikkeli lähestyy tätä ilmiötä sosiaalisesta ja kaupallisesta perspektiivistä hyödyntäen tapaustutkimusta tutkimusmenetelmänä. Toinen tutkimusartikkeli on käsitteellinen tutkimus, joka lähestyy sosiaalista yrittäjyyttä enemmän uskonnollisesta ja filantropisesta lähtökohdasta keskittymällä zakat-käsitteeseen. Kolmannessa artikkelissa sosiaalista yrittäjyyttä tutkitaan johtamisen ja valtiotason näkökulmista historiallisen tapaustutkimusmenetelmän avulla. Tutkimuksen tulokset paljastavat, että vuorovaikutus sosiaalisten yrittäjien eri toimintojen välillä on sekä monimutkaista että monitahoista. Yksi selitys tälle on, että rajapinta jonka puitteissa sosiaaliset yrittäjät toimivat, on erittäin moniulotteinen. Institutionaalinen yrittäjyys ja islamilainen filantropia ovat erottamaton osa sosiaalista yrittäjyyttä islamilaisessa kontekstissa, ehkä jopa suuremmassa määrin kuin länsimaisissa konteksteissa. Tämä tutkimus osoittaa että valtiolla on vahva avustava rooli sosiaalisessa yrittäjyydessä ja valtio voi jopa käyttäytyä sosiaalisen yrittäjän tavoin. Täten sosiaalisen yrittäjyyden vaikutus islamilaisessa kontekstissa (zakat-instituution kautta) vahvistaa sosiaalisten yrittäjien, institutionaalisten yrittäjien ja islamilaisten filantrooppien vuorovaikutusta ja vaikutusvallan leviämistä yli instituutiorajojen.

Universities and their partner organisations are promising that short-term work placements in social entrepreneurial organisations will increase student employability, leadership skills, and knowledge of socially innovative practice, while providing students meaningful opportunities to ‘change the world;’ yet theory and empirical studies are lacking that show what is beneficial and important to students, how students develop, and what influences their development through these cross-cultural and interdisciplinary experiential learning programs. This is the first study to explore the value of UK and US students participating in international internships and fellowships related to social entrepreneurship from a socioeconomic perspective. For this study, a value heuristic was developed from organisational models in the social entrepreneurship and educational philosophy literature followed by a qualitative longitudinal multiple case study. Fifteen individual student cases were chosen from two programmes involving two UK and three US universities, taking place in eleven host countries over five distinct data collection intervals. Findings across cases show a broad range of perceived value to students: from research skills and cross-cultural understanding, to critical thinking and self-confidence. Findings also show how student perspectives changed as a result of the placement experience and what ‘internal’ and ‘context-embedded’ features of the placements influenced students’ personal and professional lives. However, the ambiguity of social impact measures raises ethical questions about engaging students with limited knowledge, skills, and preparation on projects where they are unprepared to create long-term value for beneficiaries. This study contributes to the literature on higher education and international non-profit and business education by: providing an expansive matrix of value to students engaging in international placements; initiating a ‘hybridisation’ theory of personal value; creating a rigorous methodology transferable to similar programmes; outlining embedded features that programme developers can integrate in order to improve their own social and educational impact; raising ethical questions related to theory and practice; and including the researcher’s own multi-continent journey into the substance of the work.

This dissertation is one of the earliest to systematically apply and empirically test the resource-based view (RBV) in the context of nascent social ventures in a large scale study. Social ventures are entrepreneurial ventures organized as nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid organizations whose primary purpose is to address unmet social needs and create social value. Nascent social ventures face resource gaps and engage in partnerships or alliances as one means to access external resources. These partnerships with different sectors facilitate social venture innovative and earned income strategies, and assist in the development of adequate heterogeneous resource conditions that impact competitive advantage. Competitive advantage in the context of nascent social ventures is achieved through the creation of value and the achievement of venture development activities and launching. The relationships between partnerships, heterogeneous resource conditions, strategies, and competitive advantage are analyzed in the context of nascent social ventures that participated in business plan competitions. A content analysis of 179 social venture business plans and an exploratory follow-up survey of 72 of these ventures are used to analyze these relationships using regression, ANOVA, correlations, t-tests, and non-parametric statistics. The findings suggest a significant positive relationship between competitive advantage and partnership diversity, heterogeneous resource conditions, social innovation, and earned income. Social capital is the type of resource most significantly related to competitive advantage. Founder previous start-up experience, client location, and business plan completeness are also found to be significant in the relationship between partnership diversity and competitive advantage. Finally the findings suggest that hybrid social ventures create a greater competitive advantage than nonprofit or for-profit social ventures. Consequently, this dissertation not only provides academics further insight into the factors that impact nascent social value creation, venture development, and ability to launch, but also offers practitioners guidance on how best to organize certain processes to create a competitive advantage. As a result more insight is gained into the nascent social venture creation process and how these ventures can have a greater impact on society.

The study investigates the concept and development of social entrepreneurial models in South Africa to demonstrate how social business initiatives can thrive and increase their impact on quality of life. Extreme poverty and diminishing natural resources threaten the future existence of the human race. Transformative, cost-effective and sustainable solutions are necessary to address the most challenging social problems. The study explores the speculation that creation of social value naturally progressed to increase economic value. Governments and philanthropic efforts have to date, failed to offer effective solutions to social problems. Independently, no sector is able to handle the scale, cost and extent of the current social issues facing humanity. In order to address this gap the study considers the business models followed by the public, private and non-profit sectors. It then introduces the concept of social entrepreneurship and explores the use of a hybrid business model as a possible solution. It is argued that transformative, cost-effective and sustainable solutions to the most critical social problems within South Africa can only be generated once these different sectors collaborate to leverage public and private resources. The method used in approaching the study was: Identifying the need for new forms of social value creation and identifying specific ventures emerging to address these needs; Recognising the key factors enabling social entrepreneurs to accomplish ambitious task, create large social impact and influence economic value; Establishing the most predominant social problems threatening the future sustainability of society and economy in South Africa; Identifying the most strategic business model able to create transformation, sustainability and deliver both economic and social value; Establishing the guidelines, support and resources needed to strengthen social entrepreneurial behaviour and social entrepreneurial initiatives within South Africa. The objective of the study was firstly achieved through an analysis of literature related to the topic of social entrepreneurship. The literature study explored the origins of traditional entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial characteristics. It then went on to discover the concept of social entrepreneurship and made a clear definition between the different types of social entrepreneurship, separating the social entrepreneurial venture from charity and corporate social responsibility. The literature study looked further into the characteristics of a social entrepreneur, the need for new forms of social value creation, the opportunities that exist and the impact created by social entrepreneurship. The second part of the analysis strictly focussed on social entrepreneurship in South Africa and the role each sector plays in addressing social issues. The most critical social issues in South Africa were identified with emphasise on the change needed. The methodology used was the case study method. A single-case study was conducted with the Freeplay Energy Group, presenting a successful social entrepreneurial venture, serving as a good business model example for the South African environment. A qualitative approach was followed with the objective of testing theory. By comparing the theory identified in the literary review with the findings of the case study, it was possible to investigate the concept and development of social entrepreneurial models in South Africa. The conclusions demonstrate how social business initiatives can thrive and increase their impact on quality of life. The most strategic business model identified was one which integrated the public, private and non-profit sectors with social entrepreneurship. The collaboration of all the sectors with social entrepreneurship results in social value creation which gives impetus to economic value creation. The findings were documented with specific conclusions being made and offered suggestions for future research.

In times of scarce resources, frugal innovation can be a driving engine for growth and market success, as it is a practical concept established in developing countries. Nonetheless, the available literature also emphasizes a potential importance for Western countries. Accordingly, our thesis and research add to the lack of literature that connects frugal innovation to developed countries and its specific underlying conditions. The review of available literature and further discussions led to the following research questions: 1. What is the current application status of frugal innovation in Germany? 2. What characteristics should frugal innovations have to serve the BoP in the context of the German market? A preliminary theoretical framework was created from the relevant literature streams stressing the fragmented nature of frugal innovation. As the concept and research addressing this issue are in a nascent stage, one unifying definition was not found. For the course of this thesis, the definition of frugal innovation was therefore chosen to be "thrifty, modest and affordable innovations, valuable for BoP customers”. One major derivation from the literature review is that frugal innovation can be of major importance in developed countries, not only for customers for getting access to certain products, but also for companies addressing untapped markets. The empirical investigation and explorative data collection was undertaken within the market context of Germany based on eight companies from different industry backgrounds. Therefore, interviews were held with representatives of companies that offer frugal products (thereafter also including services) according to the definition from above. Within the scope of the grounded theory analyzation techniques, the interviews supported our aim to gain rich and meaningful data to extend the substantive theory about the concept of frugal innovation. Our study results (based on our eight interviews) prove the existence of frugal products in the German market, while the term and the concept have previously been unknown. Even though frugal innovations were still to be confirmed, they were not labeled as such to connect them to the concept. The study also indicates the existence of a bottom of a pyramid in Germany, despite its original connection to emerging market population. Our findings resulted in a revised framework that connects relevant fragments to a logical comprehension of the concept of frugal innovation. Finally, characteristics for frugal products and requirements could be validated and improved to be economically successful in developed market contexts. The major contribution of our thesis is its general investigation of a rather unknown concept and its presence in other markets than originally laid down. The thorough literature review, the creation and revision of the framework and our study results will serve as a fruitful ground for further exploration of this innovation type.